Miss Universe 2023: China's Jia Qi withdraws from pageant over visa issues

In a statement released on Instagram, Miss Universe China said that Jia Qi had applied for a visa but delay in attaining the visa forced her to miss the competition. (Image credit: Instagram/MissUniverseChina).

The Miss Universe 2023 pageant finale will take place at the José Adolfo Pineda Arena in El Salvador, San Salvador on November 18 and Indian viewers can catch all the action, starting at 6:30 am on November 19.

Contestants from all over the world will participate to be crowned Miss Universe, but prior to the start of the pageant authorities and officials found themselves in a bit of a controversy after China's Jia Qi had to withdraw her name, following visa delays.

Prior to the finale that is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Qi had to also miss numerous other events in the days leading up to the finale due to the visa delays.

"The Miss Universe competition areas will take place from November 15 to 18. The organizing committee and the champion, Ms. Jia Qi, applied for visa procedures as soon as her coronation was announced and actively prepared for the world finals, however, due to the delay in issuance, she flew to El Salvador as soon as the visa was granted and he lost more than a week of activities, which made it impossible for him to compete in this year’s international event," a statement on the Miss Universe China Instagram page read.

India will be represented by 23-year-old Shweta Sharda, who became eligible to participate in the pageant after winning the Miss Diva Universe finale in Mumbai in August.

Also read: Nepal’s Jane Garrett defies stereotypes as first plus-sized woman to compete in Miss Universe

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